Symmetry-enriched criticality in a coupled spin ladder
Suman Mondal, Adhip Agarwala, Tapan Mishra, Abhishodh Prakash
Abstract
This work investigates the interplay between microscopic symmetries and the effective degrees of freedom that define the macroscopic phase of matter. Considering a spin-ladder model and tuning the parameters, a myriad of distinct symmetry-enriched critical states is shown. Although the effective description in each of these phases is identical, i.e., the compact boson conformal field theory, symmetries act on the fields in subtly different ways leading to sharp distinctions in the nature of observables, including the presence of topological edge modes.
Topics & Concepts
PhysicsHomogeneous spaceObservableSymmetry (geometry)Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry)Theoretical physicsCriticalityBosonSpin (aerodynamics)Rotational symmetryConformal field theoryQuantum mechanicsConformal mapGeometryMathematicsMechanicsThermodynamicsNuclear physicsPhysics of Superconductivity and MagnetismQuantum many-body systemsQuantum and electron transport phenomena